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Doors flung open to welcome public!

And so, after many months of prayer, planning and preparation the big celebration weekend finally arrived and Jesus’ name was uplifted by the many people who joined in the festivities.

The theme for the weekend was “A New Beginning” and began on Friday 26 April by welcoming Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Relations, to speak on the contribution of faith groups to society.



A strong Christian herself, Ms. Hyslop congratulated The Salvation Army for its ongoing and significant contribution over many decades. She was keenly interested in the Army’s investment in a former Church of Scotland parish church and looked forward to the realisation of the many benefits expected from the corps’ community services both those recently established and those yet to be implemented.



Other speakers included Lt. Col. Alan Burns, Scotland Secretary and Mr. Ali Gilmour, from Riverside Church. Riverside Church is a close working partner of the Army in Ayr collaborating on many initiatives ranging from kids clubs, hospitality for those recovering from addiction and provision of food parcels for the needy and vulnerable, working in consultation with a wide range of local statutory and voluntary agencies.



Saturday 27 April was a busy day led by special guests for the weekend Lt. Cols. Ivor and Carol Telfer from THQ in London.

Although they had travelled a long distance to lead the weekend, the Telfers were no strangers to Ayr, and Ivor had spent the first 18 years of his life as a member of the corps.

Even the weather was good on the Saturday! A wide range of public figures attended, including church leaders, local councillors, and Mary Kilpatrick – the Depute Provost.



There were so many people waiting outside for the opening that even the main road, John Street, came close to be obstructed by the sheer number of people present.



Key events included a formal ribbon cutting ceremony, where Col. Telfer was assisted by Robert Sands (89) and Jack Simons (8) – the oldest and youngest soldiers on the corps roll.

This ceremony was followed by the unveiling of a plaque and a short service where Francis Aitken, DDBA, informed the public of the expenditure incurred and the funding sources used for the building project.



Later in the afternoon, the recreation hall hosted an exhibition featuring the work of the Salvation Army and local partner organisations – Voluntary Action South Ayrshire, RecoveryAyr, Access To Employment – and key contractors such as main contractor (Waterside Developments), and architects (LMA).

During the day, Jim McGinlay of LMA presented Ayr Salvation Army with the deeds of its former hall (now owned by the architects’ practice), which were signed by William Booth, the Founder of The Salvation Army.

On Sunday 28 April, the day began with a worship service led by the Telfers. A skit from Dads’ Army delivered a clear message that it is vital to get our priorities right.



The evening meeting was full of heavenly highlights, featuring the corps band, songsters and the 100+ members of Ayr Community Gospel Choir (led by corps musical director Bobby Irvine) the rafters were raised with praise to God. We look forward to God’s continued blessing as we seek to make disciples in His name.

Tim Stone 

Cafe Hope opening announced!

Ouch!

It hurts us to say it, but in all the recent reconfigurations, we lost the list of people who had subscribed to our "Happenings!" emails. So it's time to 'fess up, make our apologies, and ask you to resubscribe.

It's very easy to do, just find the "subscribe" box on the right-hand side of any of our web pages and enter your email address. To avoid the tribulations of spam, we ask you to verify by sending an email to the address you give - just click on the link and you are all set up!

If you are on social media, catch us on Twitter - @AyrCommunityChu - or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AyrSalvationArmy

Again we're sorry for the inconvenience, but perhaps you could use it as an opportunity to invite your friends to subscribe too!

Everything is new!

Since it seems that everything around Ayr Community Church is new and upgraded, we thought the website should join in the fun too!

Simpler navigation, a cleaner look, and an ability to display on every device from desktops to tablets to smartphones!

We're still loading photographs to that page, but there's enough to take a short trip down memory lane.

Watch the video about The Table and sign up!

As always, we appreciate your comments, especially if you like what you see!

Just click on the picture above, and you'll be there in a jiffy!

We couldn't wait!

7th April 2013 will always be a very special day in the history of The Salvation Army in Ayr.

For the first time since 2002, the corps was able to worship in its own purpose-built premises. Having received the keys to the renovated building on 28th March, the corps was keen to worship together under their own roof as soon as possible.



The congregation joins in praise.

Thanks to the determined efforts of a wide range of volunteers from the corps fellowship and from a range of community groups including RecoveryAyr, Riverside Church and the Community Service Team, the building was ready to use just over one week later on Sunday 7th April. The work included cleaning 200 chairs that were covered in builders’ dust, then bringing band instruments and songster music back on to site. Then there was an urgent need to find and place for everything and put everything in its place. Easier said than done!

However, that Sunday was also special for at least two other reasons. Bob and Carol Lambie were enrolled as new senior soldiers.

In his testimony, Bob explained that he and his wife had come to know the Army through the Ayr Community Gospel Choir (under the leadership of BM Bobby Irvine). After 30 years of searching, at last Bob had found his spiritual home. After publicly signing his Articles of War, Bob said he particularly appreciated the unconditional friendship extended to him and Carol by the entire congregation and went on to commit his own life to befriending others unconditionally in the name of Christ.


Bob and Carol are enrolled as soldiers.

Also that morning a new local officer was commissioned.

Douglas Johnson became Corps Strategy Director, joining the corps leadership team with particular responsibility for guiding the corps’ mission. His new role includes addressing issues such as deepening the corps’ spiritual commitment, evaluating the purpose of programme activities and encouraging numerical growth.


Douglas Johnson is commissioned by Lt. Tim Stone.

Corps Officer Lieutenant Cheryl Stone said “This fantastic building provides the corps with a wonderful opportunity to welcome the people of Ayr into our church community and break down unnecessary barriers and show the relevance of the church today”.

Lieutenant Tim Stone thanked God for the people God had provided the corps with both in the leadership team and in the wider congregation. “God has a plan for each one of us”, he said. “Together we will discover and live out what true discipleship means”.

We've got keys!

Yes! that's a lot of keys! But these are the keys to our newly renovated facility. After years of being nomads and finally purchasing the Wallacetown Parish Church, we have a place to call "home" which is tailored to our needs and capabilities.

On 28th March 2013 the final handover meeting was held and the project declared "complete".

Now the real "work" of the corps can begin again in earnest!



The architect Mr. Jim McGinlay from Lawrence McPherson Associates explains some finer points.




C.O. Lt. Tim Stone checks that all is in order.